Too many prescriptions?

But Rose you were very sweeping about the connection between medicines being free and not being taken. It really is much more complicated than that

The consultant I see is very sceptical about the widespread use of statins.

While sympathising with those who have no option but to take a plethora of prescription drugs, I also agree with those poster who are saying people need to take far more responsibility for their own health.

A change in some people's lifestyle is long overdue.

It may not be the whole story but it has to be said that many people would not build up stock piles of medications if they were not 'free'.

You wouldn't keep paying £8.05 for something that you no longer take.

Oh - SWEEPING
I must watch that.
Goes away to look up the definition and writes out 500 times:
I must not be sweeping

I would still state that people who carry on stockpiling drugs they do not need or which do not work, as stated in another post, are taking our NHS for granted and if they lived in, say, Australia they would think again before they did so.

Yes Rose , the statin debate is very interesting. Ben Goldacre was on C4 news last night on the prescription issue and I though he talked a lot of sense about the degree of risk weighed against the degree of benefit. My husband is on statins as a preventative measure because he has T1 diabetes. His risk factors are much higher and so taking the statins makes sense. BG said that the decisions to prescribe need to be more individually tailored and I agree with him. At the moment it's a very wide net that is cast.

GT
You did say you couldn't fathom why people woukd carry on collecting drugs to just stick them in the wardrobe and I was merely trying to suggest a reason why they might do that.

There could be other reasons, of course, they could be planning to flog them on the black market.

Some of the problem is the repeat prescription system used by both dispensing practices and pharmacies. They automatically dispense and deliver everything that's on repeat. When I worked at a surgery, when a patient picked up a repeat I would always ask them exactly what they needed next month. People would often stockpile things like paracetamol, aspirin and [this happened a lot] calcium tablets that they'd been prescribed but didn't like taking. Someone once brought back a load of drugs that his daughter hadn't been taking properly that were worth hundreds of pounds. But it takes time to go through it all with patients and most NHS staff don't have that time. One comment by someone that was obviously stockpiling was, when asked why they did it said 'because I'm entitled to it therefore I shall have it'. Also the cost of drugs changes all the time; sometimes the price of a drug that had been pennies would shoot through the roof and system didn't seem to automatically order a cheaper alternative. Just one person ordering aspirin each month doesn't seem much unless you multiply it by the thousands that are also doing it.

Obviously there are a majority of patients who need their medication to keep well, and that's non-negotiable. As rosequartz says, when they are free then perhaps some people feel less need to consider the cost, and certainly unless you can get hold of a copy of MIMS or a drugs catalogue then we have no idea how much a drug costs.
The problem of antibiotic resistance is a frightening scenario, you only have to read about Multi-Drug Resistant TB to see what is happening, with probably 1/3 of the world's population having TB (it's the third highest cause of death globally).......

I struggle with the idea of taking anything you don't really need because most (I suspect all) drugs cause some sort of side effect. You could then end up taking more to counteract these effects.

My GP looked at my cholesterol level, which is higher than it should be because I have no thyroid, in-putted it into her PC where it was compared with all my risk factors and decided I didn't need statins as I only had an 8.6% chance of a heart attack or stroke. Apparently if the risk is over 20% they insist on statins, if between 10-15% they discuss it and if below 10% they say there is no need.

I do think lifestyle has so much bearing on our health and that people should take some control for themselves and not just rely on the state to sort them out.

I access my prescription list on the net and order what I need. The doctor approves my request and it's electronically sent over to the pharmacy. Obviously I don't order my anti-histamine until the tree pollens appear in the early spring. I unilaterally halved the quantity of simvastatin I take, so don't need to order that every month - though I'm sure the GP will pick up on that when he reviews my prescription. If it was simply a matter of the pharmacy keeping my prescription list and delivering my drugs monthly, my medicine cabinet would be overflowing. I find that a very extravagant system.

Not excusing doctors, GT, just saying it isn't only their responsibility because I think anyone who is able should also take responsibility, as far as they can, for their health. I realise some people won't agree with that view.

I agree.

I'm not disagreeing with you about personal responsibility bags but saying that doctors have to have good systems in place to ensure that they scoop up those not able to take responsibility fully and who will generally have greater and more complex health problems. So yes in some cases actually it is solely the doctors responsibility. The default position should be good systems in place - which is very easy to achieve - and then overlay that with personal responsibility as appropriate.

Even good systems can go wrong. I think that recalls for smear tests, for instance, are probably done by clerical staff or the practice nurse and not directly via the GPs. It's easy to imagine a scenario where such a system broke down for some reason or other and not 'caught' for a while. It's also easy for someone (me) to remember that I was told when I was thirty that I should have a smear test done every three years. Small application of some mental arithmetic to ascertain if it's one of those years and then, if I don't get a note from the health centre, I can ring them and ask for an appointment.

Multiply that sort of scenario by thousands... Not making excuses, just being realistic. And responsible.

What 'excuses' (other than senility and similar problems) are there for patients stock-piling meds they aren't taking? I can't think of any.

Slightly off topic.

I know that some conditions warrant free prescriptions I have no argument with that. I was surprised to hear that DD's friend has to pay for the drugs she takes regularly for mental health problems. Due to her condition she is on a low wage and struggles to pay.
I know the line has to be drawn but it seems mental health is always on the wrong side !

Other than cancer treatment drus the only condition I can think of off hand that results in free medication for any condition is when a patient is on thyroid treatment.

thatbags, some people are so in awe of the whole medical profession that they will keep collecting their repeat prescriptions even though they have no intention of taking the medication, or have stopped for some reason. My aunt was like that - she didn't like to 'bother' her GP and had drawersful of unopened tablets when she died.

Not an excuse, just a reason.

Tegan I thought diabetics got free prescriptions too. Though I could be wrong.

Yes they do if they apply for a Medical Exception Cert. I remember now, I had one till I reached 60

You're right nina; I've forgotten so much in the course of a year . I always thought it was unfair that asthma sufferers in particular had to pay for their inhalers.

Just in case anyone doesn't know you can buy a prepayment certificate if you need to take regular meds and it can save a lot of money for those who have to pay for prescriptions.

Accepted, ana, but I don't really get it. Couldn't she just not have collected them from the pharmacy? If not, it looks as if there is a need for an education campaign about how, once meds have left a pharmacy, they cannot be returned to be used by someone else. I think pharmacies used to re-use, but they can't now because of a few cases of tampering and contamination.

Hey ho. I think we are basically in agreement, GT.